Ostheer
Wehrmacht Ostheer '''or '''Ostheer for short is one of the two factions featured in Company of Heroes: Eastern Front. It is the third Axis faction beside Wehrmacht and Panzer Elite from the previous expansion. Judging by their Command Doctrine it is likely their playing style are somewhat a role specific faction. The conditions on the Eastern Front were markedly different from the 1944-1945 Western Front: much greater scale, more vicious fighting, and a pronounced lack of good roads. it is meant to epitomize brutal unorthodox Defensive doctrine of Model's Kampfgruppes and Manstein's Two-pronged Counter attack(respectively implied in Fortress Group's Counterattack and Elite Group's Pincer Movement). on the Unit Level it represent two heer's elite division: Großdeutschland and Brandenburger ''along with 3 Notorious Waffen SS elite division(''LSSAH, Das Reich ''and ''Totenkopf) which take part in offensive of Kursk. Overview The war was fought between Nazi Germany, its allies and Finland, against the Soviet Union. The conflict began on 22 June 1941 with the Operation Barbarossa Offensive, when Axis forces crossed the borders described in the German–Soviet Nonaggression Pact, thereby invading the Soviet Union. The war ended on 9 May 1945, when Germany's armed forces surrendered unconditionally following the Battle of Berlin (also known as the Berlin Offensive), a strategic operation executed by the Red Army. The states that provided forces and other resources for the German war effort included the Axis Powers – foremost Romania, Hungary, Italy, pro-Nazi Slovakia, and Croatia. The anti-Soviet Finland, which had fought the Winter War against the Soviet Union, also joined the Offensive. The Wehrmacht forces were also assisted by anti-Communist partisans in places like Western Ukraine, the Baltic states, and later Crimean Tatars. Among the most prominent volunteer army formations was the Spanish Blue Division, sent by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco to keep his ties to the Axis intact. Basic Force Composition The Ostheer use a special new way to build their units. they can switch its unit-pool for different battle-situations. The building units are divided by Light Assault(LA) units and Light Support(LS) units. That means: each building had at least three units to select from. 1 is always buildable. The Headquarters bulding like the ones of most other armies, is located in a local house, generally a farmhouse. From here you can upgrade your base and recruit your building/repair unit. An upgrade switches which of the other 2 units can currently be built, switching between Pool 1 and Pool 2 - for a price. The units that belong to LA are the MG-34 Team and the Marksman. The units that belong to LS are the FlaK 38 Team and the Ofenrohr Truppen. The Landser is a neutral unit, you can recruit them whatever you choose. Infanterie Gruppen Post is the backbone of your army; this building allows you to call in your early support units and basic infantry units, such as the Landser. *The units that belong to LA are the MG-34 Team and the Marksman. *The units that belong to LS are the FlaK 38 Team and the Ofenrohr Truppen. *The Landser is a neutral unit, you can recruit them whatever you choose Panzer Kampf Kommand is where you can call in your armoured support. All panzer reinforcements requested from the Kampf Kommand come from off-map; arriving at the edge of the battle. This building uses two different pools, Panzer Assault(PA) and Panzer Support(PS). PA will let you build Panthers and StuGs while PS allows for Marder II (Sd.Kfz. 132) and the Brummbär *Panzer Assault: Allows the production of Panthers and StuG IIIs. Disables the production of Marders and Brummbärs. *Panzer Support: Allows the production of Marders IIs and Brummbärs. Disables the production of StuGs and Panthers. ::::: Schutzen War Camp is Your first step into modern, mechanised warfare. The Schutzen War Camp have a wide list of specialised support and assault units. One of the units in this building that you can recruit is the Panzer II Ausf. L "Luchs". As stated in the previous article, this building has two pools of units too: *Heavy Assault(HA): The units that belong to this pool are the Stormpioniers and the Sdkfz. 251 (aka Troop Halftrack). *Heavy Support(HS): The units that belong to this pool are the PaK 40 and the 75mm Infantry Support Gun. *Neutral units: Panzer II Ausf. L (aka Luchs), Panzerfusiliers and the Panzerwerfer. Veterancy Ostheer has a different system than the other factions, however shares some basic principles. All troops in the Ostheer will gain veterancy in combat; by killing enemies. Infantry receive 'buffs' similar to the American and Russian Armies, however on top of this they also gain a temporary thing known as Blood Lust. Blood Lust is a short-term (10s~15s) change to stats, it's automatically activated, an indication that your squad have some lust for blood. Each time they get Blood Lust, the duration is lower to indicate that the lust is disappearing. Blood Lust has it's advantages, but at the same time it's disadvantages. Blood Lust pushes the squad to ignore all risks; dealing more damage at the cost of accuracy and allowing them to take more damage before being mortally wounded. However while the squad becomes much harder to suppress; it's lack of care for it's own safety makes it an easy target for enemy soldiers. Meanwhile tank veterancy at first glance can be seen to reflect the Panzer Elite's veterancy, but in truth it's a lot more specific. When your thanks gain veterancy you receive the option to level up one of 3 specific crew members. Giving them unique abilities (such as HE rounds for some tanks) or passive buffs (such as increased weapon range or movement speed). In addition, vehicles also get a one-time use ability with every veterancy level. The "Veterancy" rank "Ace" (Veterancy in quotation marks because it's not viewed as Veterancy internally) allows your tanks and marksman (only they can obtain it) to go one of two ways. One way is normally just an addition to the unit, in Panther's case increased offensive stats and in Marksman's case is the addition of some off-map artillery/smoke barrages. The other way is to twist around the gameplay, Panther's case is that it becomes a Command Tank, increasing stats of nearby friendly tank, and the Marksman can completely take a different turn, making him a proper sniper. When an unit gets Blood lust, this icon "" will be shown on it's UI just for a few seconds, indicating that the unit has entered in that state. Blood lust should not be considered as a vet level, but as sub vet level of Veterancy 1. Landser (Example Infantry): * Recruit (Default) - Decreased stats. * Regular (Normal / "Veterancy 1") - Normal stats. - Medic Pack that is usable in friendly territory only. * Blood Lust 1 (Lasts 15 Seconds) - Increased Squad's Health. - Increased Squad's Damage. - Decreased Suppression Taken of the Squad. - Decreased Squad's Accuracy. - Increased Accuracy of Enemies firing at the Squad. * Blood Lust 2 - Similar to Blood Lust 1. * Blood Lust 3 - Similar to Blood Lust 1. * Veteran ("Veterancy 2") - Stat(s) Increased - Medic Pack can now be used anywhere. - Extra StG44 or MP40 (depends on initial Sergeant upgrade) * Senior ("Veterancy 3") - Stat(s) Increased - Sprint Ability - Upgrade for one LMG OR one Panzerbüchse (AT-Rifle). Elite Units (such as Brandenburgers): * Regular veterancy on start, does not gain Blood Lust. Marksman: * Recruit (Default) - Decreased stats. * Regular (Normal / "Veterancy 1") - Normal stats. - Medic Pack that is usable in friendly territory only. * Veteran ("Veterancy 2") - Stat(s) Increased - Medic Pack can now be used anywhere. * Senior ("Veterancy 3") - Stat(s) Increased * Ace - Forward Observer (Artillery Barrage, Smoke Barrage and Box Barrage) - or - Sniper Ace (Sniper Camouflage, Best Counter-Detection, Slowest Camouflaged movement; receives a Scoped-K98; explosives; removes Hide ability) Panther (Example Tank): * Rookie (Default) - Decreased stats. * Regular ("Veterancy 1") - Normal stats. - Repair Critical Ability- Single Use * Veteran ("Veterancy 2") - Engine Overclock (Temporary Increased Movement Speed; Engine Burnout on end which results in decreased max speed and slower repairs)- Single Use * Senior ("Veterancy 3") - Critical Shot (Disable Turret of Target) - Single Use * Ace - Repair Critical and Engine Overclock available for unlimited usage, but with a munition cost. Engine Burnout no longer causes the tank to receive repairs at a slower rate. - Stats Increased - One of the following two upgrades: - - Command Tank (Buffs nearby friendly vehicles) - - or - - Tank Hunter (Offensive stats increased) Additionally, each time your tank gain Veterancy, you can choose to level up one of three crew members (with the expectation of reaching "Ace", which isn't viewed as a Veterancy Rank). * Loader - Level 1: Decreased Loading Time. - Level 2: Optional load HE (Hollow-Charge for Brummbär). - Level 3: APCR replace AP (Stielgranate 42 ability for Brummbär). * Gunner - Level 1: Increased Weapon Accuracy. - Level 2: Increased Weapon Range. - Level 3: Increased Chance of Critical Hits (eg. Destroyed Engine). * Commander - Level 1: Increased Sight Range and Turret Traverse. - Level 2: Decreased Incoming Accuracy. - Level 3: Increased Damage. * Driver (Replaces Commander Crew Member on commander-less and turret-less such as Marder 2 and Brummbär) - Level 1: Increased Moving Speed and De-/Acceleration. - Level 2: Increased Turning Speed. - Level 3: Decreased Incoming Accuracy and Increased Health. Style and Strategy Command Trees *Support Army Group *Elite Army Group *Fortress Army Group Category:Faction